The Day Quistis Never Forgot
by Tifa Lockhart Strife
Summary: It is the day of the SeeD field exam for Quistis Trepe. However, it turns into a day that Quistis will never forget. Note: All the characters in this story are mine, except for Quistis Trepe, Cid Kramer, and Xu which are copyrighted by Square.


The Day Quistis Never Forgot  
  
By Tifa Lockhart Strife  
  
Quistis waited patiently at her desk for the class to begin. Today was her final class before the field exam. If she passed the field exam, she would not only become SeeD, but one of the youngest candidates ever to become SeeD. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of the morning class. Quistis didn't know who would be the fill-in instructor for today's class, since Instructor Bill had been killed yesterday in the training arena, when a T- Rexaur ambushed him from behind. She had heard rumors that the head instructor, Jessica Lockhart Strife, would teach today. From what Quistis had heard, Jessica's fighting skills were unmatched. Jessica supervised the other garden instructors and reported only to the headmaster, Cid Kramer. Quistis had seen Jessica only a few times before. The door slid open as Jessica entered with a quiet catlike grace. Quistis was stunned at how beautiful Jessica was. Her eyes, though mostly brown, had a slight touch of ruby. Her long, light brown hair was tied back and flowed down to her hips. The head instructor's uniform that Jessica wore, identical to an instructor's uniform, did very little to conceal the shapeliness of her body underneath. While Jessica was appeared to be eighteen years old, she was significantly older. Out of the corner of her eyes, Quistis could see that every guy in the classroom was almost drooling at their new teacher. Obviously, they were staring at Jessica's large breasts, instead of her pleasant smile. Quistis also noticed that every girl in the class had jealousy clearly written across her face. Quistis smiled to herself. Jessica looked casually across the room before sitting down at her desk. "Good morning, class. I'm Head Instructor Strife." Jessica said in a cheerful tone. "Good morning, Head Instructor Strife." The guys answered with stupid grins on their faces. The girls were silent. Jessica frowned at their silence. "I didn't hear you . . . girls." Jessica said after a moment of silence. "Good morning, Head Instructor Strife." The girls answered. "That's better." Jessica said. "Now class, as you all know by now, Instructor Bill met an unfortunate end yesterday. I will be teaching in his place today. The field exam is also today. Those of you who are taking the field exam are to report promptly to the front gate at 1200 hrs." "That leaves plenty of time to eat lunch and talk to my friends" Quistis thought to herself. "For those of you who didn't meet the requirements or flunked last week's written exam, you are to remain here in study hall. Class with your new instructor, begins tomorrow at 0700 hrs." Jessica continued. Then, she got up and walked around the classroom as she summed up everything that was taught to the candidates during the semester. Quistis was very impressed at Jessica's teaching style. It was actually fun to listen to her talk about what they had learned and how it all related to even the minutest things that most people took for granted in everyday life. Quistis now understood why Jessica was the head instructor. It wasn't because of her beautiful looks; it was because of her very positive and insightful personality. The class went by very quickly and when the bell finally rang, Quistis felt sad there wasn't another class after where Jessica would teach again. As the students lined up and exited the classroom, Quistis walked over to Jessica. "That was the best teaching session I attended all semester." Quistis complimented. "Thank-you. I'm sure we'll see each other again." Jessica said with a smile. Quistis smiled back and turned to leave the classroom. "Oh . . . Quistis." Jessica asked. Quistis turned around. "Could you close the door behind you?" Jessica asked. "Certainly." Quistis answered as she closed the classroom door behind her.  
  
Quistis walked to the cafeteria, where she met up with her friends. "Ready for the big exam, Quisty?" a voice asked her from behind. It was John, her boyfriend. "Of course I am." Quistis answered with a quick kiss to his cheek. He started to kiss her on the neck, but she stopped him. "Not here." She whispered. "Where?" He asked with a smile. "In my dorm, after the exam." She answered with a wink of her eye. Quistis chatted with her friends as she ate lunch. About halfway through lunch, Quistis saw Jessica Strife talking with some of the other instructors in the cafe. While, she was thinking about what she could talk about to Jessica, some guy's rude comment interrupted her thoughts. "Now's there's a chick I wouldn't mind getting together with." Joe said to some of the guys sitting at the table next to the one that Quistis was sitting at. "Look at how tight her ass is." One of the other guys commented. Quistis was disturbed at that comment, but ignored it. However, the comments kept coming. "Look at her bulging chest. I swear she has the biggest boobs I've ever seen." "With boobs like that, she could get any guy she wanted." "She's probably a mega-slut who wants to screw every guy in the garden." That last comment was the final straw. "Why don't you perverts shut-up?" Quistis asked. "Fuck off, bitch." Joe replied rudely. Before Quistis could answer, John was in Joe's face. "What the hell did you just call my girlfriend, you fuckin' little punk?" he asked angrily. Joe was equally angry at her John's insult. "What did you call me fag?" Joe asked as he shoved John. "You fuckin' deaf, punk?" John asked as he shoved Joe back. Suddenly, Joe hit John with a right hook punch that knocked John back over the table he and Quistis were sitting at. The café went silent. John quickly got off the table and sprang at Joe, wrestling him to the floor. A moment later, they were punching each other. A bunch of students gathered around the brawl, some cheering, others shouting for the fighters to stop. Quistis was trying to pull Joe off of John, but to no avail. Then two instructors yanked Joe off of John. "Both of you come with me." Instructor Thomas said coldly. John and Joe followed him out of the café, to headmaster Cid's office. Quistis sighed as she back down at the table with her friends and watched the crowd disperse. Eventually, it was time for her to go to the front gate. She waved good-bye to her friends, after they wished her good luck on the field exam. As she left the cafeteria, Quistis thought about everything she had learned from her combat training. On her way to the front gate, Quistis saw Jessica picking up several papers and books that she had dropped. Quistis hurried over to help her. "Let me give a you hand." Quistis said as she started gathering the scattered papers. "Thank-you, Quistis." Jessica said with a smile. Quistis finished gathering the papers and handed them to Jessica. Then, she picked up the two books. As she picked up the second book, a photograph fell out of it onto the floor. Quistis picked it up and looked at it for a moment. In the photograph, were two young women wearing head instructor uniforms. Quistis recognized one of them as Jessica. The other looked like a twin sister, except she had blonde hair. Quistis turned the photograph over. On the back was written:  
  
3981 Happy New Year Love your sister,  
Victoria Lynne Strife  
  
Quistis placed the photo on top off the book as she handed it back to Jessica. Jessica smiled sadly as she placed the photo inside the book that Quistis had just given her. "That photo was taken at a New Year's party in Nibelheim many years ago." Jessica said in a soft tone. "Nibelheim? Where's that?" Quistis asked curiously. "Oh, it's a little village, that's . . .very far away." Jessica answered softly as she picked up her books and papers. "I'd like to talk to you more, except I have lots of work to do. Thanks for helping me pick up." "You're welcome, Head Instructor Strife." Quistis said with a smile. She watched Jessica walk away, then headed towards the front gate.  
  
When Quistis arrived at the front gate, there was quite a crowd. Ten instructors, nine SeeDs, and twenty-one candidates, including herself. She knew most of the candidates, but only three of the instructors. Then, Headmaster Cid Kramer appeared. The instructors stood to attention on Cid's right, while the SeeDs stood to attention on Cid's left. The candidates stood to attention in the middle, in front of Cid. After a long moment, Cid started talking. "It's nice to see you all here. It's been a while since I've seen some of you. As you know, today is the field exam. It will be a live combat situation. Either you will make it out alive . . . or you will die trying. Should you all fail . . . there will be nine SeeDs to finish the job. This is your chance to prove yourself worthy to join SeeD. SeeD is the very pride of Balamb Garden. The best of the best. You will be assigned to a squad of three, supervised by an instructor. Now, wait for your named to be called by your instructor." There was a long moment of silence as the instructors waited and let the candidates think about Cid's speech. Then, each instructor came forward, one at a time, calling the name of the squad captain first, then the names of the other two candidates in the squad. "Quistis Trepe!" Senior Instructor Michael called out. Quistis stepped forward immediately. "Sheila Gagne!" Sheila stepped forward. "Mindy Burns!" Mindy stepped forward. The roll call continued, until all the squads were formed.  
  
Quistis silently eyed her squadmates as the landing ship ferried them to their destination. She didn't know if they were nervous, but she certainly was. "Nervous, Quisty?" Sheila asked. "Just a little." Quistis answered. "If you studied real hard, you shouldn't have anything to worry about." Mindy said. "No amount of studying will prepare you for the real thing." Senior Instructor Michael pointed out. After that, the candidates were silent for the rest of the way to their destination.  
  
The doors to the landing ship opened and Quistis rushed out with her squadmates onto the battlefield. As they raced forward to take cover, Sheila who was on Quistis's right got hit by a shell. The explosion knocked Quistis to the ground as dirt, blood, chunks of flesh, and body parts rained down on her. Even as she fought back the tears in her eyes, Quistis didn't look back as she crawled towards a large boulder. Several explosions shook the ground as Quistis reached the boulder. Her remaining squadmate, Mindy, took cover near Quistis. Suddenly, a huge explosion threw Quistis to the ground as more body parts pelted her. She looked up, horrified to find that Mindy had been completely dismembered by shrapnel from the explosion. The exam had barely started and her squad had been wiped out. How many more candidates would die? Would she die? She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and let her training take over. The other squads opened fire on the Galbadian soldiers with their rifles. The Galbadian soldiers fell back as the some their numbers got killed. Quistis fired her rifle at the Galbadians closest to her, killing them.  
  
Some distance away, on top of a communications tower, the Galbadian general surveyed the unfolding battle through a pair of high-powered binoculars. "Have the troops withdraw." The general ordered. "General, that would go against President Deling's orders." the captain objected. The general lowered the binoculars and looked right at the captain, who nervously stepped back. "I'm in command here. You will do as I say." The general answered menacingly. "Now, unleash the X-ATM092." The captain gasped at the mention of the X-ATM092. "You have a problem with that, captain?" the general asked angrily. "It hasn't even been tested yet. How are we supposed to know if it will work right?" the captain objected. "You were supposed to make sure of that, but instead, you blew it off . . . because you were too busy having a sexual affair instead." The general said bluntly. The captain's mouth fell open. How did the general know about that? "You're relieved of command. Now, get out of my sight." The general ordered. The captain started for the elevator, but the general stopped him. "Take the express." The general said as she threw the captain over the edge and watched him plummet to ground below. His body splattered across the gravel like a watermelon as it hit.  
  
The Galbadians were still firing back at the advancing SeeDs when the order to retreat came in. "We got them." John said to Quistis when the Galbadians retreated out of sight. "Fall back to the beach." Senior Instructor Michael ordered. Quistis smiled with relief. Finally, this exam was coming to an end. Then, the unexpected happened. A sudden shot rang out and John's head blew apart, spraying blood and cerebral fluid. His headless body stood for a moment, then toppled over. "No!" Quistis screamed. It wasn't fair. Not when they were both so close to completing the field exam. Quistis fought back the tears in her eyes, but was unable to. "You Galbadian bastards!" she yelled.  
  
The X-ATM092 leapt off the communications tower to the ground below and made its way towards Dollet. Three candidates spotted the X-ATM092 as it approached them. "What is that?" one them asked. The X-ATM092 stopped just long enough to charge up its main weapon, the ray-bomb. One of the candidates backed up and started running as his squadmates were vaporized. He raced through the town screaming as the X-ATM092 charged after him. Three candidates watched in horror as the X-ATM092 crashed right through a house without even slowing down. Suddenly, it changed its direction and charged right at them.  
  
"Open fire!" the squad leader ordered. The bullets did little to slow down the X-ATM092. Suddenly, it leapt into the air and landed right on top of the candidates, squishing them into a bloody pulp. That brought nine more candidates to the scene, which in turn opened fire on the X-ATM092. At last, the mechanical monster collapsed to the ground. "Move out." One of the squad leaders ordered. The candidates turned around and starting walking away. "Look out!" another squad leader yelled. The X-ATM092 was back up and already its ray-bomb was charged. It fired, vaporizing eight of the candidates immediately. The remaining candidate, a captain, aimed a rocket launcher at the X-ATM092, but the mechanical monster's reflexes were faster. It kicked the captain, knocking him to the ground before he could fire. Immediately, the X-ATM092 grabbed him with both of its two mechanical pincers. The captain screamed, which turned into a gurgle. The mechanical pincers crushed him, then ripped him apart. Seeing that, the remaining candidates in the area fled towards the beach. The X-ATM092 charged after the fleeing candidates, stepping on and killing those who fell behind. A few minutes later, the fleeing candidates arrived at the beach. "Look at that!" Instructor Thomas yelled. Quistis turned around and was speechless as the candidates raced towards the landing ships with the X- ATM092 right behind them. Quistis ran inside one of the landing ships, to the cannon on top. Quickly, she aimed the cannon at the mechanical monster. She held her breath as she fired. The armor piercing, high explosive shell streaked through the air and struck the mechanical monster dead on. The X- ATM092 exploded several times, before detonating in a huge explosion that scattered broken machine parts and flaming debris across the beach.  
  
The Galbadian general took off her helmet. Her long blonde hair flowed behind her as a chilling breeze blew. "Let them go." She said in an amused tone. Suddenly, she drew her gunblade and decapitated the nearest officer. The others watched in horror as the blood sprayed from the headless corpse as it fell to the ground. "No more screw-ups or you'll end up like him." The general said coolly as she sheathed her gunblade.  
  
The field exam was finally over. Quistis was still pumped with adrenaline sat down and tried to relax. Many candidates lost their lives in the field exam. When she got back to Balamb Garden, she went directly to the chapel to pray for those who had lost their lives. A short while later, her close friend Xu came to get her. "Quisty, I'm sorry about John. He was a good friend." Quistis merely nodded. "Headmaster Cid wants to see us." Xu said. "What for?" Quistis asked slowly. "We're the only ones who passed the field exam." Xu said with a half smile. Quistis couldn't believe her ears. She had made to SeeD! John would've been proud of her. What done was done. No amount of mourning would bring back the dead. She decided the best way to honor his memory and sacrifice, was by being the best SeeD she could possibly be. She would never forget this day. The day she lost her boy friend and innocence. It was also the day she became SeeD. 


End file.
